Its beaches are as good as Tahiti’s there's no jetlag, so why is New Caledonia such a surprise?
With beaches to rival Tahiti, the world’s second largest coral reef and no jetlag-inducing time difference, why aren’t more Australians going here?
NZ & Pacific
Don't miss out on the headlines from NZ & Pacific. Followed categories will be added to My News.
DON’T be surprised if you don’t see many signposts on the island of Ouvea. The locals are still getting used to the idea of people who don’t know their way around, otherwise called tourists.
Ouvea is probably the least visited of the four Loyalty Islands off the north mainland of New Caledonia and the better-known Isle of Pines to its south. It is also arguably the most low key.
Turn off at the north end of the only main road that runs along the powder white beaches of the narrow island and push through the bushes to one of the most special places you will ever find. The Trou a Tortues, or Turtle Hole.
The natural deep rock pool is home to five giant turtles and it is possible to climb down the dusty path and swim with them. I could have sat all day just watching, mesmerised. Indeed, some people actually did sit all day watching the water. They were two local Rastafarian dudes, Bob Marley playing quietly in the background, who were happy to prompt the few visitors with cameras when the turtles surfaced.
Given what the dudes were smoking, they were understandably not very quick with their turtle spotting but then again, the turtles weren’t going anywhere.
I had no idea that reggae was huge in New Caledonia but there are lots of surprises in the French overseas territory that is at the other end of the world from Paris but less than three hours from Sydney. Most Australians who have visited New Caledonia have had just a brief porthole view as part of a South Pacific cruise. A quick tantalising taste with a few hours in Noumea and another short trip to the Isle of Pines.
Or they fly over it to get to Fiji, despite the beaches of New Caledonia’s islands rivalling even Tahiti.
Set inside the world’s largest lagoon with the world’s second-largest coral reef and no deadly snakes or spiders, this deserves to be a destination in its own right.
Qantas and Aircalin code-share flights to the island nation. Landing at its international airport, Tontouta, in the afternoon, a warm breeze is blowing. It’s about 45 minutes to Noumea where the mountains meet the sea. The mountains are another surprise, a Jurassic Park of prehistoric plants that fed the dinosaurs. There are 3500 plants endemic to the nation.
Overlooking the lagoon from the veranda of Meridien Noumea, the capital’s newly refurbished and best hotel, with a bowl of olives and a glass of wine, we realise there is no jet lag. This is a world away from Australia but there’s no time difference.
My tour guide for the next morning, Lucien Lebelu, has lived all over the world but now lives here on his boat: “It’s the best country in the world. It’s not snobbish.”
Mornings should begin at the markets where the seafood looks so fresh it might have leapt on to the stalls. If you are lucky, there is a local who sells souvenirs of megalodon teeth from his market stall. The extinct shark that lived more than 10 million years ago makes today’s great whites look like sardines and its teeth, harvested from the ocean floor, are the size of a hand. Not to be worn on a neck chain.
There are chic cafe strips but they are outside the city centre along the Anse Vata where the semicircular Hilton Hotel dominates, or along the Baie des Citrons. Next to the Hilton is the Nouvata Parc, which stages Tahitian dancing shows and seafood buffets.
Noumea was an American base in World War II and an anchor from the USS Missouri, the ship on which the Japanese signed the surrender, is on display right in the middle of the road. Now I think about it, there is not even a sign here indicating where it is from.
The best bread and pastries are at L’Atelier Gourmand where they bake traditional baguettes without yeast and the tarte citron is to die for but you have to get in early to beat the locals.
At night, reservations are almost essential at Noumea’s top restaurant, the Hippocampe, meaning seahorse, at the Meridien hotel. The locals fight to come here. The ever-elegant maitre d’, Thierry, is part of the fabric of the restaurant whose dessert of vanilla creme brulee with chutney of mango scented with curry and mango sorbet is unforgettable.
The domestic airport of Magenta is just 10 minutes from Noumea and the Isle of Pines a 25-minute flight. It is not only the best known of New Caledonia’s islands but one of the most beautiful islands in the world.
A stunning rainforest leads to a cave with a stream trickling through it where the young Queen Hortense hid from tribal conflicts in 1855 and 1856. The soundtrack to this scene is the soft moan of what my guide Jean Kri says is the world’s largest pigeon. It’s big – but can’t rival the megalodon.
In the island’s only village, Vao, the main street has a pharmacy and an open-air market open Wednesday and Saturdays where the grandmothers come and sell what they grow in their gardens. Jean Kri jokes it is the local shopping mall. I say it is the most picturesque shopping mall in the world.
The ruins of the old prison that housed some of the 3000 political prisoners sent from Paris in 1871 sit amid vanilla groves and close to some of the most beautiful white beaches and turquoise water you will ever see. Half-built outrigger canoes lie along its shores as the traditional building skills are still handed down the generations.
Ouvea is stunning and more untamed than the Isle of Pines. It is friendly but a bit more reserved, proud of its revolution in 1988 when 19 independence fighters were killed after taking 35 people including 27 gendarmes hostage.
Close to the Turtle Hole is Tiberia beach, which only gets “busy” on a Sunday afternoon when a few local families arrive. The rest of the week you will be the only one there.
In the crystal-clear lagoon behind one of the island’s only two hotels, the Paradis d’Ouvea, a marine reserve has been created for turtles and rays. However, snorkelling is possible in the deep waters on the other side of the hotel where bungalows open up right on to the sand.
The biggest surprise about New Caledonia is why more people don’t come here.
The writer was a guest of Aircalin, My New Caledonia and New Caledonia Tourism.
Originally published as Its beaches are as good as Tahiti’s there's no jetlag, so why is New Caledonia such a surprise?